WASHINGTON - A disabled U.S. spy satellite is likely to break into small pieces when it falls to Earth within weeks, posing little danger to humans, U.S. government officials said Monday.

Most, if any, debris that survives the intense heat of re-entry would likely fall into the oceans, which cover more than 70 percent of the planet, White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. But he said the U.S. government was monitoring the satellite’s descent from orbit and examining different options to “mitigate any damage.”

The U.S. military could potentially use a missile to destroy the minivan-sized satellite in space, but one senior U.S. defense official told Reuters that was unlikely for several reasons, including concern about creating space debris, as China did when it shot down one of its satellites last year.

“Given that 75 percent of the Earth is covered in water and much of the land is uninhabited, the likely percentage of this satellite or any debris falling into a populated area is very small,” Johndroe said.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said more than 17,000 human-made objects have re-entered Earth’s atmosphere over the past 50 years without major incident.

“We are monitoring it ... we take our obligations seriously with respect to the use of space,” Whitman said, noting the satellite was expected to return to Earth “over the next several weeks ... late February, early March.”

Never became operational

The satellite is a classified National Reconnaissance Office spacecraft launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in 2006, four senior U.S. officials who asked not to be named told Reuters.

The satellite, known as L-21, has been out of touch since shortly after reaching its low-Earth orbit. Built by Lockheed Martin at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, the satellite has fallen more than 43 miles (70 kilometers) to an orbit at around 174 miles (280 kilometers) above Earth. U.S. and European astronomers estimate it is dropping at an accelerating rate of 5 miles (8 kilometers) a day.

Because the satellite never became operational, it has toxic rocket fuel on board that would have been used to maneuver the satellite in space. It could pose a danger if the fuel tank does not explode upon re-entry.

Thousands of space objects fall to Earth each year, but they generally scatter over a huge area and there have never been any reported injuries, two U.S. officials said.

Occasionally, bigger objects survive, including a 563-pound (255-kilogram) stainless-steel fuel tank from a Delta 2 rocket that landed 50 yards (meters) from a farmer’s home in Texas in 1997.

This L-21 satellite is much smaller, and more likely to burn up as it enters the atmosphere, scientists said.

The U.S. military has no weapon designed to shoot down a satellite, but it demonstrated the ability to do that in the mid-1980s, and could cobble together a plan to do so again fairly quickly, said the senior defense official.

Such a move appears unlikely, given global dismay about China’s use of a missile to destroy a much bigger satellite at a higher orbit, which scattered nearly 1,000 pieces of debris throughout space, the official said.

Not the first time

The largest uncontrolled re-entry by a NASA spacecraft was Skylab, the 78-ton abandoned space station that fell from orbit in 1979. Its debris dropped harmlessly into the Indian Ocean and across a remote section of western Australia.

In 2000, NASA engineers successfully directed a safe de-orbit of the 17-ton Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, using rockets aboard the satellite to bring it down in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean.

In 2002, officials believe debris from a 3.5-ton science satellite smacked into Earth's atmosphere and rained down over the Persian Gulf, a few thousand miles from where they first predicted it would plummet.

Logged

“If you strike at,imprison,or kill us,out of our prisons or graves we will still evoke a spirit that will thwart you,and perhaps,raise a force that will destroy you! We defy you! Do your worst!”-James Connolly 1909

I knew it! I said from day one of this satellite business that they know more than they're letting on! Cover for false flag....

Keep an eye on top officials... wherever they go, you can bet any money the satellite won't drop on them.

If everyone leaves washington, do the same. This could be something to start up COG by making the capital uninhabitable... and possibly martial law. Maybe i'm jumping the gun but it's a possiblity and anything is on the cards with these psychos.

On 11 September 2001, a key U.S. intelligence agency was running a drill in which a plane hits a government building. While U.S. spy satellites could easily observe what actually happened in New York City and Washington, this “bizarre coincidence” sent the people who operate America’s “eye in the sky” home.

On the very day that planes struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the “super-secret” intelligence agency that “designs, builds, and operates U.S. reconnaissance satellites” had planned to conduct an emergency drill in which a simulated plane from the nearby Dulles International Airport would have crashed into their building. When reality intruded in New York and Washington the exercise was cancelled and nearly all of NRO’s three thousand employees, the people who operate the nation’s “eye in the sky,” were sent home.

The NRO, which works closely with the Dept. of Defense and CIA, had planned a simulated exercise in which a small jet “crashes” into one of the four towers at the agency's headquarters on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. The government said it was a “bizarre coincidence” that one of the most important U.S. intelligence agencies had planned a mock plane-into-building crash on Sept. 11, according to the Associated Press who reported the story on August 22.

NRO headquarters are in Chantilly, Virginia, about 4 miles from the runways of Dulles airport.

The secretive NRO was created in 1960 and oversees the nation’s spy satellites for reconnaissance and defense purposes. For the first 32 years the U.S. government even denied its existence. The NRO recruits personnel from the military and the Central Intelligence Agency and has a budget that is estimated to equal the combined budgets of both the CIA and the National Security Agency.

The director of the NRO (DNRO) reports directly to the Secretary of Defense and the director of the CIA. On 11 September 2001 the NRO director was Keith R. Hall, who had headed the agency since 1996. As DNRO, Hall was responsible for the acquisition and operation of all United States space-based reconnaissance and intelligence systems. Hall also served as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space until December 8, 2001 when Peter B. Teets replaced Hall in both positions.

Hall had joined the Pentagon during the administration of Bush the elder, as deputy assistant secretary of defense for intelligence and security, where he remained into the Clinton administration, until then CIA Director John M. Deutch brought him to the CIA. Hall crafted Deutch’s plan to create a new spy bureaucracy in the Pentagon, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) by merging the CIA’s center for interpreting spy satellite imagery with the Defense Mapping Agency.

“As Director, NRO, I have responsibility for the design, acquisition, and operations of all the nation's reconnaissance satellites, reporting to the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence,” Hall told the Senate subcommittee on strategic forces in 1999.

The fact that the NRO had planned a scenario on 9/11 that was remarkably similar to what actually happened exposes the lie by some senior administration officials who claimed the events of 9/11 had not been foreseen.

The “bizarre co-incidence” between the planned exercise and the grim reality suggests that the “game” was hijacked by unknown agents who overlaid it with a lethal scheme in the same way that former Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, was assassinated during what was meant to be a security exercise.

The existence of the NRO’s pre-planned plane-attack simulation was first revealed in an announcement of a recent National Law Enforcement and Security Institute conference in Chicago. In a promotion for speaker John Fulton, a CIA officer assigned as chief of NRO’s strategic gaming division, the announcement read: “On the morning of September 11th 2001, Mr. Fulton and his team ... were running a pre-planned simulation to explore the emergency response issues that would be created if a plane were to strike a building. Little did they know that the scenario would come true in a dramatic way that day.”

It was American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 767, which took off from Dulles at 8:10 a.m., 50 minutes before the NRO exercise was to begin, that reportedly struck the Pentagon on Sept. 11. The Pentagon was hit between 9:30 and 9:40 a.m. with 125 deaths on the ground and 64 reported on the plane.

The NRO scenario was planned to test employees’ ability to respond to a disaster, according to Art Haubold, spokesman for the agency. No actual plane was to be involved. To simulate the damage from the crash, some stairwells and exits were to be closed off, forcing employees to find other ways to evacuate the building. Haubold told AFP that is was meant to be a “make believe” drill, “like the fire drills we did as kids in school.”

AFP asked Haubold why NRO’s staff was sent home when there was no apparent imminent danger. Haubold said NRO employees had been sent home as federal workers in Washington had. A spokesperson at NIMA in Bethesda, Md., however, told AFP that NIMA personnel had remained on the job on 9/11. NIMA is headed by Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper (USAF Ret.).

Asked about how many people at the Dept. of Defense and CIA had been made aware of the planned exercise, Haubold said that the Pentagon and the CIA were aware of the drill, which he called a “contingency response” test. Pentagon spokesman Ken McClellan could not say whether Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was aware of the exercise at NRO. However, regarding the threat of an airplane attack at the Pentagon or the World Trade Center, McClellan said, “people were prescient.”

“It was just an incredible coincidence that this happened to involve an aircraft crashing into our facility,” Haubold told AP. “As soon as the real world events began, we canceled the exercise.”

While the story of the “bizarre coincidence” is of obvious interest, it has been removed from news websites where it appeared in late August. CNN and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, for example, have both removed the story.

On Sept. 11, almost all of the 3,000 people who work at NRO headquarters were sent home, according to Art Haubold, NRO spokesman. Haubold told AFP that after 10:30 a.m. the only people who remained at the agency were “mission essential” personnel.

On 11 September 2001, a key U.S. intelligence agency was running a drill in which a plane hits a government building. While U.S. spy satellites could easily observe what actually happened in New York City and Washington, this “bizarre coincidence” sent the people who operate America’s “eye in the sky” home.

On the very day that planes struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the “super-secret” intelligence agency that “designs, builds, and operates U.S. reconnaissance satellites” had planned to conduct an emergency drill in which a simulated plane from the nearby Dulles International Airport would have crashed into their building. When reality intruded in New York and Washington the exercise was cancelled and nearly all of NRO’s three thousand employees, the people who operate the nation’s “eye in the sky,” were sent home.

The NRO, which works closely with the Dept. of Defense and CIA, had planned a simulated exercise in which a small jet “crashes” into one of the four towers at the agency's headquarters on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. The government said it was a “bizarre coincidence” that one of the most important U.S. intelligence agencies had planned a mock plane-into-building crash on Sept. 11, according to the Associated Press who reported the story on August 22.

NRO headquarters are in Chantilly, Virginia, about 4 miles from the runways of Dulles airport.

The secretive NRO was created in 1960 and oversees the nation’s spy satellites for reconnaissance and defense purposes. For the first 32 years the U.S. government even denied its existence. The NRO recruits personnel from the military and the Central Intelligence Agency and has a budget that is estimated to equal the combined budgets of both the CIA and the National Security Agency.

The director of the NRO (DNRO) reports directly to the Secretary of Defense and the director of the CIA. On 11 September 2001 the NRO director was Keith R. Hall, who had headed the agency since 1996. As DNRO, Hall was responsible for the acquisition and operation of all United States space-based reconnaissance and intelligence systems. Hall also served as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space until December 8, 2001 when Peter B. Teets replaced Hall in both positions.

Hall had joined the Pentagon during the administration of Bush the elder, as deputy assistant secretary of defense for intelligence and security, where he remained into the Clinton administration, until then CIA Director John M. Deutch brought him to the CIA. Hall crafted Deutch’s plan to create a new spy bureaucracy in the Pentagon, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) by merging the CIA’s center for interpreting spy satellite imagery with the Defense Mapping Agency.

“As Director, NRO, I have responsibility for the design, acquisition, and operations of all the nation's reconnaissance satellites, reporting to the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence,” Hall told the Senate subcommittee on strategic forces in 1999.

The fact that the NRO had planned a scenario on 9/11 that was remarkably similar to what actually happened exposes the lie by some senior administration officials who claimed the events of 9/11 had not been foreseen.

The “bizarre co-incidence” between the planned exercise and the grim reality suggests that the “game” was hijacked by unknown agents who overlaid it with a lethal scheme in the same way that former Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, was assassinated during what was meant to be a security exercise.

The existence of the NRO’s pre-planned plane-attack simulation was first revealed in an announcement of a recent National Law Enforcement and Security Institute conference in Chicago. In a promotion for speaker John Fulton, a CIA officer assigned as chief of NRO’s strategic gaming division, the announcement read: “On the morning of September 11th 2001, Mr. Fulton and his team ... were running a pre-planned simulation to explore the emergency response issues that would be created if a plane were to strike a building. Little did they know that the scenario would come true in a dramatic way that day.”

It was American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 767, which took off from Dulles at 8:10 a.m., 50 minutes before the NRO exercise was to begin, that reportedly struck the Pentagon on Sept. 11. The Pentagon was hit between 9:30 and 9:40 a.m. with 125 deaths on the ground and 64 reported on the plane.

The NRO scenario was planned to test employees’ ability to respond to a disaster, according to Art Haubold, spokesman for the agency. No actual plane was to be involved. To simulate the damage from the crash, some stairwells and exits were to be closed off, forcing employees to find other ways to evacuate the building. Haubold told AFP that is was meant to be a “make believe” drill, “like the fire drills we did as kids in school.”

AFP asked Haubold why NRO’s staff was sent home when there was no apparent imminent danger. Haubold said NRO employees had been sent home as federal workers in Washington had. A spokesperson at NIMA in Bethesda, Md., however, told AFP that NIMA personnel had remained on the job on 9/11. NIMA is headed by Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper (USAF Ret.).

Asked about how many people at the Dept. of Defense and CIA had been made aware of the planned exercise, Haubold said that the Pentagon and the CIA were aware of the drill, which he called a “contingency response” test. Pentagon spokesman Ken McClellan could not say whether Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was aware of the exercise at NRO. However, regarding the threat of an airplane attack at the Pentagon or the World Trade Center, McClellan said, “people were prescient.”

“It was just an incredible coincidence that this happened to involve an aircraft crashing into our facility,” Haubold told AP. “As soon as the real world events began, we canceled the exercise.”

While the story of the “bizarre coincidence” is of obvious interest, it has been removed from news websites where it appeared in late August. CNN and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, for example, have both removed the story.

On Sept. 11, almost all of the 3,000 people who work at NRO headquarters were sent home, according to Art Haubold, NRO spokesman. Haubold told AFP that after 10:30 a.m. the only people who remained at the agency were “mission essential” personnel.

Throughout the 1960s, the United States operation of reconnaissance satellites was officially classified, but well known among specialists and the press. However, it was not until January 1971 that the NRO's existence was first disclosed by the media, when it was briefly mentioned in a New York Times article on intelligence and foreign policy.

A much more extensive discussion of the NRO appeared in the December 9, 1973 Washington Post as a result of the inadvertent mention of the reconnaissance office in a Congressional report. The NRO prepared this set of classified responses to the article, clearly intended for those in Congress who might be concerned about the article's purported revelations about the NRO's cost overruns and avoidance of Congressional oversight.

And I love their information that is still classified (why even release this page?)

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All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

This report was produced by a panel chaired by former Lockheed Corporation CEO Robert Fuhrman, whose members included both former and serving intelligence officials. It focused on a variety of issues other than current and possible future NRO reconnaissance systems. Among the issues it examined were mission, organizational structure, security and classification.

One of its most significant conclusions was that the Program A,B,C structure that had been instituted in 1962 (see Document 6) "does not enhance mission effectiveness" but "leads to counterproductive competition and makes it more difficult to foster loyalty and to maintain focus on the NRO mission." As a result, the panel recommended that the NRO be restructured along functional lines with imagery and SIGINT directorates. This change was made even before the final version of the report was issued.

The report also noted that while the NRO's existence was officially classified it was an "open secret" and that seeking to attempt to maintain such "open secrets ... weakens the case for preserving 'real' secrets." In addition, such secrecy limited the NRO's ability to interact with customers and users. The group recommended declassifying the "fact of" the NRO, as well as providing information about the NRO's mission, the identities of senior officials, headquarters locations, and the NRO as a joint Intelligence Community-Defense Department activity.

Logged

All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

The concept of employing significantly smaller satellites for imagery collection was strongly advocated by Rep. Larry Combest during his tenure (1995-97) as chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. As a result the DCI was instructed to appoint a panel of experts to review the issue.12

Panel members included former NRO directors Robert Hermann and Martin Faga; former NRO official and NSA director Lew Allen; scientist Sidney Drell and four others. The panel's report supported a radical reduction in the size of most U.S. imagery satellites. The panel concluded that "now is an appropriate time to make a qualitative change in the systems architecture of the nation's reconnaissance assets," in part because "the technology and industrial capabilities of the country permit the creation of effective space systems that are substantially smaller and less costly than current systems." Thus, the panel saw "the opportunity to move towards an operational capability for . . . imagery systems, that consists of an array of smaller, cheaper spacecraft in larger number with a total capacity which is at least as useful as those currently planned and to transport them to space with substantially smaller and less costly launch vehicles."13

The extent to which those recommendations have influenced NRO's Future Imagery Architecture plan is uncertain--although plans for large constellations of small satellites have not usually survived the budgetary process.

Logged

All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

Document 23 Defining the Future of the NRO for the 21st Century, Final Report, Executive Summary August 26, 1996 Unclassified 30 pp.

This report was apparently the first major outside review of the NRO conducted during the Clinton administration, and the first conducted after the NRO's transformation to an overt institution and its restructuring were firmly in place.

Among those conducting the review were former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. David E. Jeremiah, former NRO director Martin Faga, and former Deputy Director of Central Intelligence John McMahon. Issues studied by the panel included, inter alia, the existence of a possible alternative to the NRO, NRO's mission in the 21st Century, support to military operations, security, internal organization, and the relationship with NRO's customers.

After reviewing a number of alternatives, the panel concluded that no other arrangement was superior for carrying out the NRO mission. It did, however, recommend, changes with regards to NRO's mission and internal organization. The panel concluded that where the NRO's current mission is "worldwide intelligence," its future mission should be "global information superiority," which "demands intelligence capabilities unimaginable just a few years ago." The panel also recommended creation of a fourth NRO directorate, which was subsequently established, to focus solely on the development of advanced systems, in order to "increase the visibility and stature of technology innovation in the NRO."

All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

I am very pleased to join General Estes and Mr. Klinger today in highlighting the significant progress the intelligence and defense space communities have made over the past year. The year since my last appearance before this committee has been a time of substantial and profound change for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Significantly, we have expanded our vision and mission statements to better reflect not only the expanding role of intelligence but also the primacy of global information superiority and the importance of supporting our customers as their missions evolve. The NRO will rely on greater innovation, improved customer relationships, and the incorporation of acquisition reform precepts to leverage limited resources in support of our mission. I would like to take this opportunity to expand on these developments and introduce my plans for the future.

In March 1996, I asked Admiral David Jeremiah (USN, Ret), former Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff to convene a panel of senior officials to evaluate the NRO from top to bottom. This was an independent panel composed of luminaries from the defense, intelligence, and corporate space sectors that thoroughly reviewed almost every aspect of the NRO. In fact, their first charge was- 1 -

to decide whether the United States still needed an NRO. I have found the panel's 47 recommendations to be uniquely valuable in charting the NRO's future. Upon their advice we have updated our mission statement to capture "global information superiority", shifted from an "evolutionary" to a "revolutionary" research and development profile, renewed emphasis on innovation in all facets of our operations, and embarked on an ambitious but much needed effort in reforming our acquisition practices. When implemented, there initiatives will have a considerable impact on the NRO.

A prominent theme to the Jeremiah Panel's recommendations was an emphasis on customer support. I have embedded the concept of "mission partners" in all of our acquisition and operations planning. These mission partners, the National Security Agency (NSA), the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), the Central MASINT Office, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) are each customers that have a unique stake in our systems and are therefore included in our decision processes with the ability to influence the direction of the organization. For instance, no discussion of satellite imagery is conducted without full participation of the Director of NIMA. By including these mission partners in such planning we are able to arrive at corporate decisions that clearly reflect operational- 2 -Page Missing- 3 -

National Intelligence Support Teams (NISTs) and US Space Commands Joint Space Support Teams (JSSTs). Each deploys at the request of a theater commander to augment the intelligence and space operations personnel, respectively, already in place.

These liaison relationships, both at the national and military level, are more than convenient - they are essential to developing and maintaining a cadre of trained, experienced space operators, managers and policy experts who will, by virtue of their relationships with different customers, provide a greater degree of insight into NRO capabilities while providing valuable feedback to the NRO. In this regard, our officer exchange programs with the US Space Command and Air Force Space Command are particularly beneficial. One officer from each command is assigned to the NRO headquarters staff for the purposes of facilitating a daily exchange of information. In addition, these officers sponsor and plan various senior leadership fora, user conferences, and the annual Space Support to the Warfighter Conference. Air Force Space Commands' Space Warfare Center has integrees assigned to a number of NRO program offices. Likewise, the NRO has officers stationed at both commands and the Space Warfare Center.- 4 -

I fully support General Estes' objective of "operationalizing space" and have directed NRO efforts in support of this concept. lf the military is to use space resources effectively they must train as they will fight. Knowledge of both space capabilities and limitations, as well as an understanding of how to task and utilize space assets, is key to achieving maximum support from space. To arrive at this desired end-state, however, requires a substantial effort in "educating space" and is therefore a growing element of our customer support program. The NRO is providing educational services to the newly established Space Weapons Instructor Course at the Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base. An NRO officer at Air Force Space Command is responsible for managing the NRO's portion of the curriculum and ensuring its currency.

As a wider diversity of customers comes to rely on NRO systems we have enhanced our reporting on the health of our space reconnaissance assets. The NRO established a 24-hour Watch Activity in September 1996 to monitor and report the status of our space systems. This data is fused with US Space Command information on navigation, weather, communications, and missile warning systems and provides our customers with a complete synopsis of defense and intelligence systems' capabilities. The NRO is working to integrate our systems' health data with the collection- 5 -

management updates provided by the DIA, NIMA, and NSA.

Another substantial and far-reaching effort of the past year has been an NRO emphasis on acquisition reform. From the Packard Commission to the Jeremiah Panel, the NRO has been cited as the government's premier organization for the development and acquisition of unique and innovative technology. After I reported as Acting Director last February, however, I became concerned that the organization had grown somewhat complacent in this field and was starting to lose its vital edge. Following a mid-year Integrated Product Team review, the NRO has committed to employing the tenets of innovative acquisition reform, including best practices from business, in all future system acquisitions. Initiatives such as a broad statement of requirements rather than a specific statement of work, timely insertion of technology into the development process, and compressed acquisition schedules have already been incorporated into new major system acquisitions. These efforts will have a profound effort on our way of doing business.

The NRO has also taken a number of careful steps to support greater openness with respect to our program. In November 1996, we declassified the existence of our relationship with most of the- 6 -

contractors who work alongside our government personnel at NRO Headquarters. We plan to continue the process by declassifying most of the rest of our contractor relationships throughout the spring.

Declassification and the acknowledgment of the NRO's existence has also given us the opportunity to enhance our relationship with the public and give the American people information on the ways we contribute to national security. Last spring, we released information about CORONA, an early satellite imaging system. A well received Discovery Channel documentary was the result. In December, we acknowledged an NRO launch for the first time. While no information concerning the mission was released, the 48-hour advance notification was unprecedented. Later this year we hope to distribute a 50-page unclassified history of the NRO. We also helped arrange the contribution of a model of one of our satellites to the Bush Presidential Library at the request of former President George Bush. The benefits of this new openness accrue not only to the NRO but to the entire space community.

Posturing the NRO for the next century is an important objective we have pursued since I last testified before this- 7 -

Subcommittee. I would highlight two initiatives in this regard. First, the NRO has established the goal of substantially increasing the percentage of funds we dedicate to research and development (R&D) efforts. Details on our plans for the Fiscal Year 1998 budget in this regard are included in our classified Congressional Budget Justification Book provided to the Committee. A robust R&D effort is the front end of our effort to revolutionize global reconnaissance. In addition, building on a Jeremiah Panel recommendation, since late last year the PRO has been heavily engaged in a corporate strategic planning effort to assure proper focus for our future plans.

Finally, I want to note that the NRO's financial management deficiencies of a year ago have all been fully addressed. Financial reforms have been implemented and I can assure this committee that there will be no surprises in this regard. The NRO's Associate Director for Resource Oversight and Management has centralized all NRO financial reporting and accounting, thereby ensuring that the NRO leadership as well as those charged with oversight of our accounts, both in the Executive Branch and in the Congress, have an accurate picture of our financial status. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the DoD Comptroller, and the DCI's Community Management Staff all participate in our rigorous- 8 -

quarterly budget execution reviews and are afforded full visibility into our program execution. We will achieve another significant financial milestone this year when we implement a primary disbursing system using inaugural NRO Treasury Department accounts. This is particularly significant in that it brings us closer to realizing our goal of a fully integrated financial management system. Moreover, by October 1, 1997, the NRO will be compliant with General Accounting Office and OMB guidelines for financial systems as directed by the Congress. My goal is for the NRO to be nothing less than the premier financial management organization in the United States government.

I would like to close my remarks with a recognition of the value of our increasingly integrated ties across the defense and intelligence space communities. The NRO has been working closely with the DoD Space Architect in the analysis of cross-program interoperability, standardization, and possible consolidation with respect to satellite operations. We have also participated in DoD Space Architect reviews over the last year, including a comprehensive review of military satellite communications systems. Likewise, the DoD Space Architect is now an integral part of NRO architecture efforts. Finally, in December 1996, the DUSD (Space) and I signed a memorandum of agreement which formalized the "Two- 9 -

Architects, One Architecture" policy for defense and intelligence space management. The ultimate objective of this is to establish a single, integrated National Security Space System Architecture; this epitomizes the level of integration we are trying to achieve.

Cooperation and integration among the NRO, US Space Command, the Air Force, DUSD (space), the DoD Space Architect, and our mission partners and customers is having a dynamic effect on the management of space resources and responsibilities. Those of us seated before you are committed to expanding on these efforts.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I would be happy to respond to any questions.- 10 -

Logged

All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

The United States has developed the most expensive and capable reconnaissance satellites the world has ever seen. American satellites can photograph terrorist bases, listen in on radio conversations, sniff out clandestine nuclear tests, and spot rocket launches anywhere in the world. The goal of these assets, simply put, is to prevent surprises. In Shades of Gray, Dr. L. Parker Temple III describes the development of these capabilities in unprecedented historical detail and context. He taps recently declassified documents and melds them with his own behind-the-scenes experiences as an Air Force space expert at the Pentagon in the 1980s. In this work, Temple tracks the evolution of space reconnaissance systems from their seeds in the painful lessons of Pearl Harbor through the challenges of today. More than any other book, Shades of Gray places development of these capabilities into their proper context with the overall U.S. space program.

Logged

All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMINTIMINT, short for IMagery INTelligence, is an intelligence gathering discipline which collects information via satellite and aerial photography. As a means of collecting intelligence, IMINT is a subset of intelligence collection management, which, in turn, is a subset of intelligence cycle management. IMINT is especially complemented by non-imaging MASINT electro-optical and radar sensors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIGINTSIGINT is a contraction of SIGnals INTelligence, which is a intelligence-gathering by interception of signals, whether between people (i.e., COMINT or communications intelligence) or between machines (i.e., ELINT or electronic intelligence), or mixtures of the two. As sensitive information is often encrypted, SIGINT often involves the use of cryptanalysis. However, traffic analysis—the study of who is signalling whom and in what quantity—can often produce valuable information, even when the messages themselves cannot be decrypted. See SIGINT by Alliances, Nations and Industries for the organization of SIGINT activities, and SIGINT Operational Platforms by Nation for current collection systems, and SIGINT in Modern History for World War I to the present.

All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

"Master of Space"--a motto of the United States Space Command, a joint Air Force, Army and Navy command set up by the Pentagon in 1985--says it all. Our military leaders seek to control outer space, and dominate the earth, by basing weapons in space. Corporate America is deeply involved.

"US Space Command--dominating the space dimension of military operations to protect US interests and investment. Integrating Space Forces into warfighting capabilities across the full spectrum of conflict," says the command's Vision for 2020, a report whose colorful cover depicts a laser weapon in space zapping targets on the Earth below--its goal in the next two decades. "Space is the ultimate high ground," says the Air Force Space Command.

In 1996 the Space Command's commander in chief, Gen. Joseph Ashy, put it bluntly. "It's politically sensitive, but it's going to happen.... we're going to fight in space. We're going to fight from space and we're going to fight into space.... That's why the US has development programs in directed energy and hit-to-kill mechanisms.

"We'll expand into these two missions--space control and space force application [military jargon for control of Earth from space]--because they will become increasingly important. We will engage terrestrial targets someday--ships, airplanes, land targets--from space. We will engage targets in space, from space."

An Air Force board report, New World Vistas: Air and Space Power for the 21st Century, says: "In the next two decades, new technologies will allow the fielding of space-based weapons of devastating effectiveness to be used to deliver energy and mass as force projection in tactical and strategic conflict.... These advances will enable lasers...to effect very many kills."

The projection of US power by means of deadly technology has other nations understandably upset. This past January in Geneva, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan urged the UN's annual Conference on Disarmament to "codify principles which can ensure that outer space remains weapons-free." At the March session of the conference, China's Ambassador for Disarmament Affairs Li Changhe called for an international law forbidding not only nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction in space--as does the 1967 Outer Space Treaty--but "any weapons" in space.

"Outer space is the common heritage of human beings," declared Wang Xiaoyu, First Secretary of China's mission to the UN. "It should be used entirely for peaceful purposes and for the economic, scientific and cultural development of all countries as well as the well-being of mankind. It must not be weaponized and become another arena of the arms race." In November 138 nations voted in the UN General Assembly to reaffirm the Outer Space Treaty and its provision that space "shall be for peaceful purposes." Only the United States and Israel abstained. Assistant secretary of the Air Force for Space Keith Hall says, "Space dominance, we have it, we like it and we're going to keep it."

And money flows for it. The budget for Ronald Reagan's "Star Wars," now known under the Clinton Administration as Ballistic Missile Defense, has held steady at about $4 billion a year. Extra billions are secret, or "in the black." This past March Congress approved an additional $6.6 billion through 2005.

Follow the money and you find corporate America. A Space Command report called Long Range Plan, issued last year, says that "the development and production process...involved...about 75 corporations" in space weapons projects. Also last year, a contract for a Space-Based Laser Readiness Demonstrator was signed. A poster for the project shows a laser firing a beam in space above the curve of the Earth's surface. An American flag floats in the heavens like an aurora borealis. A seal shows the "team" working on the project: TRW, Boeing, the Air Force, the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization.

As if these space-based lasers, hypervelocity guns and particle-beam weapons aren't nightmare enough, they'll likely be nuclear powered, according to New World Vistas. "Setting the emotional issues of nuclear power aside," says the report, "this technology offers...large amounts of power in space." It also offers the specter of a fleet of Chernobyls orbiting the Earth.

All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

Tangled Web 2005: A Profile of the Missile Defense and Space Weapons Lobbies by William D. Hartung with Frida Berrigan, Michelle Ciarrocca, and Jonathan Wingo http://www.worldpolicy.org/projects/arms/reports/tangledweb.htmlACKNOWLEDGMENTSThis is the latest in a series of reports by the World Policy Institute’s Arms Trade Resource Center on the economic and political factors influencing United States policies on nuclear weapons, missile defense, and space weapons. The Center would like to thank Theresa Hitchens of the Center for Defense Information for her invaluable feedback on early drafts. We would also like to extend thanks to all of the other experts whose good work we relied on in developing this report.

We are also extremely grateful to the foundations and individuals whose support enabled us to do this report: the Arsenault Family Fund, the Deer Creek Foundation, the Educational Foundation of America, the Janelia Foundation, the Ploughshares Fund, the Proteus Fund, the Samuel Rubin Foundation, the Stewart Mott Fund, the Strachan Donnelley Trust, David Brown, Alan Kligerman and Mary Van Evera.

TANGLED WEB II THE MISSILE DEFENSE AND SPACE WEAPONS LOBBIES 2005Introduction:Missile Defense Technical and Cost IssuesSince U.S. President George W. Bush officially announced his decision to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic missile treaty in December 2002, U.S. spending on the development and deployment of a missile defense system has accelerated dramatically. Missile defense spending has increased from roughly $4 billion per year at the end of the Clinton administration to between $8 billion and $9 billion now.

Seven prototype Ground-based Missile Defense (GMD) interceptors have been installed at Fort Greely, Alaska, with two more in place at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Efforts are being made to speed up deployment of Sea-based Midcourse Defense (SBM) interceptors, using Aegis radar systems and ships outfitted with Standard Missiles 3 (SM-3). There is also funding for research on Space-Based Interceptors (SBI) designed to eliminate nuclear warheads before they reach the United States.

This substantial flow of funds has continued despite the serious technical and cost issues that have plagued the missile defense effort. For example, in the last two tests of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system — designed to intercept nuclear warheads in space, before they re-enter the earth’s atmosphere — the interceptor rockets failed to make it out of the launch tube. In a prior test, in December 2002, the kill vehicle (the component designed to intercept the incoming missile/warhead) failed to separate from the interceptor rocket. The GMD system has performed so poorly that supporters like Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) are concerned that recent Pentagon statements about limiting upgrades to the system’s interceptors could be the first step towards significant funding cuts. If carried out, the funds cut from GMD would most likely be shifted to other missile defense config- urations.

In the Airborne Laser program (ABL), which plans to mount lasers on modified Boeing 747 aircraft, only one of the six technologies needed to make the system work is "technically mature." A full test of the system has been delayed from 2005 to as late as 2008.

Cost issues raised by the current missile defense program are equally troubling. Costs for the Aegis ballistic missile defense system, a ship-based system that uses Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) as an interceptor, grew by over 11% from November 2003 to July 2004, a period of just nine months. The Space-Based Infrared High (SBIRS-High) satellite, designed to provide early warning for missile defense, has experienced cost growth of 150% from late 1996 through mid-2004.

From its inception during the Reagan administration to the present, the current generation of missile defense development has cost over $130 billion. Missile defense costs will continue to grow. The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that just launching enough Spaced-Based Interceptors (SBI) to ensure full global coverage could cost $40 billion to $60 billion.

All of this expenditure might be justified if the ballistic missile defense system could be shown to work and if the ballistic missile threat were the most urgent danger facing the United States. But neither of these propositions is true.

As Dr. Theodore Postol of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has demonstrated, systems like the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense and the Aegis system can be easily overcome by the use of simple decoys such as mylar balloons that can be released at the same time as the actual nuclear warhead. In the weightless environment of space, it is virtually impossible to tell a warhead from a decoy, rendering any mid-course defense system an almost futile exercise. A recent study by the Congressional Research Service concluded that "there is no unambiguous, empirical evidence to support the contention that kinetic kill for ICBM defense will work."

Another missile defense idea is to try to hit the attacking missile in its "boost phase," before it leaves the atmosphere and releases its decoys and warheads. A report by the American Physical Society (APS) has reviewed the daunting challenges faced by any boost-phase system. First, it notes that because of the speed of solid-fueled rockets, "boost-phase defense of the entire United States against solid-propellant ICBMs. . . is unlikely to be practical when all factors are considered, no matter where or how interceptors are based." The APS report goes on to explain that U.S. intelligence analyses have "concluded that countries of concern might acquire or develop solid-propellant ICBMs during the next 10-15 years," which means that "boost-phase defenses not able to defend against solid-propellant ICBMs risk being obsolete when deployed."

The APS report further notes the problem of "munitions shortfall." This means that even if the body of the attacking missile is destroyed, the munitions and decoys will continue along a ballistic trajectory, potentially landing either in neighboring countries or even in the United States. The list of additional problems is long. For example, "the intercept locations for ICBM trajectories from North Korea would be over China… Consequently, firing them towards North Korea… could be mistaken for an attack on China, Russia, or other countries."

The boost phase of an ICBM is short, in the range of three to four minutes. As the APS report notes, "In most situations, interceptors would have to be fired within a few seconds after confirmation of a large rocket to intercept it in time to protect the United States." Also, it would be extremely difficult to discriminate between an ICBM launch and a satellite launch, meaning that the boost-phase system would have to be prepared to shoot down any rocket in the vicinity, regardless of its purpose.

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All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

I think they may have hit it it appears that its losing nearly a mile a minute.

keep tracking bro!

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All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

February 16, 2008 -- A US ambassador announced yesterday that the government will reimburse any country that sustains fallout from the rogue spy satellite it plans to shoot down. But the question remains, where will it fall? The government has been tight-lipped about exactly where in the atmosphere the object is floating, but one amateur astro-geek thinks he knows the answer. Ted Molczan, an amateur satellite watcher, says he saw the satellite in question on Feb. 11 over South Carolina. But, since Molczan says it moves at more than 7 kilometers per second, chances are it's long gone by now. The space watcher earlier this month reportedly said that he thought the mystery object was actually USA-193, a satellite built by Lockheed Martin and launched in December 2006. Gen. James Cartwright confirmed his theory at a Pentagon press conference on Thursday.

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All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

Local skywatchers may be out of luck if they plan on witnessing the spectacular explosion of a dying U.S. spy satellite. And there won't be an opportunity to collect any debris from the military top-secret satellite known by its designation US 193. That's because the U.S. military will likely shoot down the satellite while it's over the Pacific Ocean or the Indian Ocean, said Frank Florian, director of space science at the Telus World of Science. "It could be quite spectacular watching the exploding satellite as it enters the Earth's atmosphere," he said. "But again, depending upon where and when they do it, we may not see anything." Predicting when and where it will re-enter the atmosphere and burn up is like trying to guess what the weather will be like in a month's time because there are too many uncertainties, according to heavens-above.com, a website for satellite watchers.

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All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

Los Angeles, 16 February, (Asiantribune.com): President Bush has authorized the US Navy to shoot down a US spy satellite that is falling out of orbit and due to collide with the Earth any time now. A Navy cruiser is expected to fire a single missile from its Aegis weapons system as early as the end of next week, according to Pentagon officials. Peace activists have already condemned this anticipated action Bush’s entry into space wars. If the first missile fails to destroy the satellite, the Navy will go at it again after evaluation of the resulting trajectory of the falling satellite. Additional ships are in position to fire two more missiles, if that is deemed necessary.

General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, who briefed the press on the plans, have stated that the action was necessary to minimize the danger that debris from the satellite, particularly from its fuel tank, could injure or kill someone when it crashes to Earth.

Some space scientists and critics of the government have denounced these claims, noting that no human being has been injured by any of the thousands of pieces of manmade debris that have fallen to Earth in the 50 years since the launching of Sputnik inaugurated the space age. Some have agreed with the pre-emptive shooting.

There is also the scenario that top-secret technology on board the failing satellite could be recovered by an adversary, and the opportunity to test out US anti-missile technologies on a live target. The satellite, designated US 193, was launched in 2006 at the behest of the National Reconnaissance Organization (NRO), the division of the Pentagon that conducts satellite surveillance of the entire globe. US 193 were one of the first to use a new imaging technology which the NRO would like to keep out of the hands of any potential US rival.

Administration has denied all suggestions about losing spy technology stating all equipment on board the satellite would be burned up during reentry. However, the web site Space.com cited a number of cases where complex on-board instruments have survived previous reentries and crashes. It stated that at least in one case, sensitive technology was recovered by a Peruvian peasant on a mountainside in the Andes.

Earlier US space officials had said that US 193 believed that there was no danger to people on the ground and that, in particular, the volatile hydrazine fuel would melt and then burn up during reentry. There is a view now that the fuel tank, filled with a half ton of liquid hydrazine that had frozen solid in the course of more than a year in the near-absolute-zero temperature in orbit, could serve as a buffer for the vehicle’s reentry, allowing more of it to survive the estimated pressures of 25 times gravity. Thus, giving credence to the theory that survival and recovery of secret equipment on board may be a reason for shooting the falling satellite.

United States is in a position to take immediate defensive action against incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) aimed at US. These sea-launched missiles fired by Aegis-class cruisers north and east of Japan would be the initial line of defense against a nuclear-armed missile launched against the continental United States. There is a second line of defense: land-based interceptors fired from stations in Alaska and California. They are being tested now while the sea-based interceptors have been deployed already, mostly against the threat of a missile launch from North Korea.

The New York Times recently reported that in short, “The effort will be a real-world test of the nation’s antiballistic missile systems and its anti-satellite abilities, even though the Pentagon said it was not using the effort to test its most exotic weapons or send a message to any adversaries.” According to some reports satellite US 193 differs from the usual test targets for the sea-launched missile since it is much larger—about two and a half tons—and at a much higher altitude. The missile will be able to strike the falling satellite just as it reenters the atmosphere.

Some international observers have stated that the shoot-down was a signal to Russia and China, two the most potent long-term challengers to US military power. They said that in the case of China, the destruction of the satellite would demonstrate that the US had greater capability than that demonstrated by the Chinese last year, when they shot down an aging weather satellite.

The action is particularly troublesome to many observers because it was announced only two days after Russia and China jointly announced their support for a new treaty banning weapons in space. The treaty was presented to a Conference on Disarmament meeting in Geneva, with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi declaring, “China hopes the Conference on Disarmament will enter into substantial discussion on the draft as soon as possible in order to reach a common consensus.”

The shoot-down could also have immediate practical consequences for all countries conducting space operations. The resulting explosion of the falling satellite could produce 100,000 pieces of debris, in contrast to the estimated 1,000 to 2,000 pieces of debris produced by the destruction of the Chinese weather satellite, which was much smaller than US 193. The Chinese satellite was at a much higher altitude above the earth, over 600 miles, so the bulk of its debris is still in orbit and a danger to other space traffic. Since US 193 will be at 150 miles above the Earth when it is destroyed, most of its fragments will reenter the atmosphere immediately and burn up.

- Asian Tribune -

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All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

The federal agency that botched its response to Hurricane Katrina doesn't want to be caught unprepared in the event a crippled U.S. spy satellite tumbles back to Earth. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has issued to local police and fire departments nationwide a "First Responder Guide for Space Object Re-Entry." The cover letter from the FEMA Disaster Operations Directorate says the likelihood that the crippled satellite now on a collision course with Earth will strike the U.S. is low, but FEMA promises a lot of help if it does: "We will be there to support you, in great numbers if necessary, but as with all emergency response situations, the first few hours will require your readiness until state and federal help arrives." The federal government is taking other steps to deal with the satellite. In the next two weeks, the Navy will try to shoot down the satellite over the Pacific Ocean, although there is no guarantee that will work. The 5,000-pound satellite has no radioactive materials on board but carries about 1,000 pounds of hydrazine, a hazardous chemical it uses as fuel. Some local officials contacted Friday said they had received the advisory from FEMA. One town leader said he got it and deleted it, thinking it was a joke. Most officials were reluctant to publicly make light of the guide just in case the satellite took out a neighborhood in their community.

South Windsor police Sgt. Scott Custer, the department's spokesman, said there are protocols for unusual events. "We would treat it like a big crime scene — just one that happens to have a big hole in the center," Custer said. First responders would help the injured, set up a perimeter and keep people away while awaiting state and federal authorities. But Custer joked: "I'll never hit Powerball, but the damn thing will hit my house." Michael J. Purcaro, Vernon's director of emergency management, said FEMA is doing its job by providing information to first responders. "You have to take the threat seriously, even if the probability and threat to the public is low," Purcaro said. Canton Police Chief Lowell Humphrey said Friday he learned of the guide from his town's emergency manager. "I'm going to read it and weigh its recommendations," Humphrey said. "I do take seriously the threat of any hard objects falling out of the sky."

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All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

Navy aims to blow falling spy satellite to smithereenshttp://www.charlotte.com/opinion/story/495832.htmlThe Pentagon tells us the Navy will attempt to shoot down a Greyhound bus-sized spy satellite that otherwise would crash to earth next month.The satellite, launched in 2006, lost power and its computer failed, leaving it uncontrollable. It contains a large tank of toxic fuel that would be hazardous if the tank landed in a populated area. The plan is to pulverize the satellite with an anti-missile missile when it's about 150 miles up. One thought: Don't let Vice President Cheney do the shooting.

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All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

While the Pentagon mobilizes for an attempt to shoot down a falling spy satellite before it becomes a hazard to people on the ground, Marylanders will have several opportunities in the coming days to see the errant hardware as it soars up the East Coast. It might be the last chance anyone has to see USA-193. Some estimates say the satellite will fall into the atmosphere within the next three weeks if it is not destroyed. Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said a weeklong window of opportunity to shoot it down will open this weekend.

Christina Rocca, U.S ambassador to the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament, said, "If the engagement fails, the satellite is expected to make an uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere on or about 6 March 2008 in any region on the Earth's surface between 58.5 degrees north and 58.5 degrees south latitudes," according to a report on SpaceDaily.com. Orbital predictions for USA-193, gleaned from the Heavens-Above.com Web site, include one evening pass visible from Baltimore each night for the next week - through Friday. At least four of those flyovers should be high enough above the horizon to be seen without too much difficulty. But the weather will be iffy on several evenings. The other issue will be the satellite's magnitude, or brightness. Predicted magnitudes for the four best passes by USA-193 range from 1.4 and 2.7 - similar to some of the brighter stars of the winter sky, but not the brightest. Dark skies away from urban light pollution will make the satellite easier to spot.

USA-193 should look like a small, unblinking star, moving briskly from one horizon to another, crossing the sky in four or five minutes. If an object has blinking, multiple or colored lights, it is an airplane, not the satellite. Here are the predictions for the four most favorable flybys. They may prove to be off by several minutes because of the satellite's decaying orbit, so allow for extra time on either end of the predictions, especially for those passes at the end of the sequence. The first pass high enough to be easily tracked will come Sunday evening. The weather forecast was poor, however, with an 80 percent chance of showers. But, if the clouds part, look for the spy satellite to rise above the southern horizon at 6:28 p.m., climbing to a little less than a third of the way up the southeastern sky by 6:30 p.m. It will skim just above the bright star Sirius before racing off toward the eastern horizon, disappearing there at 6:31 p.m.

Monday night's forecast is also doubtful - mostly cloudy. But, just in case, look for USA-193 to rise above the southern horizon at 6:22 p.m., climbing higher this time - rising 56 degrees (more than halfway up) into the southeastern sky and passing just above Orion at 6:24 p.m. before sliding off toward the northeast and vanishing at 6:26 p.m. Tuesday evening's pass could be the best of the batch. The forecast from this distance is excellent - clear skies. Look for the satellite to rise from the southwest at 6:15 p.m., climbing swiftly to more than 70 degrees above the northwestern horizon at 6:17. It will fly above the constellation Cassiopeia, then head toward the northeast, disappearing at 6:20 p.m. The last convenient flyby during the coming week will come Wednesday evening. The satellite will rise above the western horizon at 6:08 p.m., climbing to about a third of the way up the northwestern horizon at 6:10 p.m. It will pass below Cassiopeia this time before disappearing at 6:14 p.m.

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All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

HONOLULU - A Pearl Harbor-based Navy ship could be called to shoot down the dying U.S. spy satellite over the Pacific. The Pentagon hasn't announced which ship will take down the US-193 satellite loaded with toxic fuel or exactly when. It has only said it plans to fire a missile at the 5,000-pound satellite from a cruiser in the northern Pacific. There are only a few Navy cruisers in the Pacific equipped with the Standard Missile 3 missiles the military plans to use to shoot down the satellite. The USS Lake Erie and the USS Port Royal are based at Pearl Harbor. The USS Shiloh is based at Yokosuka, Japan. The action is expected during a three- or four-day window starting next week.

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All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

A radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) is a simple electrical generator which obtains its power from radioactive decay. In such a device, the heat released by the decay of a suitable radioactive material is converted into electricity by the Seebeck effect using an array of thermocouples. RTGs can be considered as a type of battery and have been used as power sources in satellites, space probes and unmanned remote facilities. RTGs are usually the most desirable power source for unmanned or unmaintained situations needing a few hundred watts or less of power for durations too long for fuel cells, batteries and generators to provide economically, and in places where solar cells are not viable.Contents

DesignDiagram of an RTG used on the Cassini probeThe design of an RTG is simple by the standards of nuclear technology: the main component is a sturdy container of a radioactive material (the fuel). Thermocouples are placed in the walls of the container, with the outer end of each thermocouple connected to a heat sink. Radioactive decay of the fuel produces heat which flows through the thermocouples to the heat sink, generating electricity in the process.

A thermocouple is a thermoelectric device that converts thermal energy directly into electrical energy using the Seebeck effect. It is made of two kinds of metal (or semiconductors) that can both conduct electricity. They are connected to each other in a closed loop. If the two junctions are at different temperatures, an electric current will flow in the loop.

The radioactive material used in RTGs must have several characteristics:The half-life must be long enough that it will produce energy at a relatively continuous rate for a reasonable amount of time. However, at the same time, the half-life needs to be short enough so that it decays sufficiently quickly to generate a usable amount of heat. Typical half-lives for radioisotopes used in RTGs are therefore several decades, although isotopes with shorter half-lives could be used for specialized applications.For spaceflight use, the fuel must produce a large amount of energy per mass and volume (density). Density and weight are not as important for terrestrial use, unless there are size restrictions.It should produce high energy radiation that has low penetration, preferably alpha radiation. Beta radiation can give off considerable amounts of Gamma/X-ray radiation through bremsstrahlung secondary radiation production, thus requiring heavy shielding. Isotopes must not produce significant amounts of gamma, neutron radiation or penetrating radiation in general through other decay modes or decay chain products.

The first two criteria limit the number of possible fuels to fewer than 30 atomic isotopes within the entire isotope table of elements. Plutonium-238, curium-244 and strontium-90 are the most often cited candidate isotopes, but other isotopes such as polonium-210, promethium-147, caesium-137, cerium-144, ruthenium-106, cobalt-60, curium-242 and thulium isotopes have also been studied. Of the above, 238Pu has the lowest shielding requirements and longest half-life. Only three candidate isotopes meet the last criterion (not all are listed above) and need less than 25 mm of lead shielding to control unwanted radiation. 238Pu (the best of these three) needs less than 2.5 mm, and in many cases no shielding is needed in a 238Pu RTG, as the casing itself is adequate.

238Pu has become the most widely used fuel for RTGs, in the form of plutonium(IV) oxide (PuO2). 238Pu has a half-life of 87.7 years, reasonable energy density and exceptionally low gamma and neutron radiation levels. Some Russian terrestrial RTGs have used 90Sr; this isotope has a shorter half-life, much lower energy density and produces gamma radiation, but is cheaper. Some prototype RTGs, first built in 1958 by USA Atomic Energy Commission, have used 210Po; this isotope provides phenomenal energy density, but has limited use because of its very short half-life and significant gamma ray production. A kilogram of pure 210Po in the form of a cube would be about 48 mm (about 2 inches) on a side and emit about 63.5 kilowatts of heat (about 140 W/g), easily capable of melting then vaporizing itself. 242Cm and 244Cm have also been studied well, but require heavy shielding from gamma and neutron radiation produced from spontaneous fission.

Americium-241 is a potential candidate isotope with a longer half-life than 238Pu: 241Am has a half-life of 432 years and could hypothetically power a device for centuries. However, the energy density of 241Am is only 1/4 that of 238Pu, and 241Am produces more penetrating radiation through decay chain products than 238Pu and needs about 18 mm worth of lead shielding. Even so, its shielding requirements in an RTG are the second lowest of all possible isotopes: only 238Pu requires less.

UseSoviet RTGs in dilapidated and vandalized condition, powered by 90Sr

The first RTG launched in space by the United States was in 1961 aboard the SNAP 3 in the Navy Transit 4A spacecraft. One of the first terrestrial uses of RTGs was in 1966 by the US Navy at the uninhabited Fairway Rock Island in Alaska, where it remained in use until its removal in 1995.

A common application of RTGs is as power sources on spacecraft. Systems Nuclear Auxiliary Power Program (SNAP) units were used especially for probes that travel far enough from the Sun that solar panels are no longer viable. As such they are used with Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Galileo, Ulysses, Cassini and New Horizons. In addition, RTGs were used to power the two Viking landers and for the scientific experiments left on the Moon by the crews of Apollo 12 through 17 (SNAP 27s), excluding Apollo 13 because that mission never reached the Moon's surface. RTGs were also used for the Nimbus, Transit and Les satellites. By comparison, only a few space vehicles have been launched using full-fledged nuclear reactors: the Soviet RORSAT series and the American SNAP-10A.

In addition to spacecraft, the Soviet Union constructed many unmanned lighthouses and navigation beacons powered by RTGs[1]. Powered by 90Sr, they are very reliable and provide a steady source of power. However, critics argue that they could cause environmental and security problems, as leakage or theft of the radioactive material could pass unnoticed for years (or possibly forever: some of these lighthouses cannot be found because of poor record keeping). There has been even an instance where the radioactive compartments were opened by a thief; it was inferred that the resulting radiation poisoning was fatal[2]. There was also the case of two woodcutters in Siberia who came across one of these units and slept close to it as a heat source during a cold night. They both died of radiation poisoning within a few days afterwards. The unit was eventually recovered and isolated[3].

There are approximately 1,000 such RTGs in Russia. All of them have long exhausted their 10-year engineered life spans. They are likely no longer functional, and may be in need of dismantling. Some of them have become the prey of metal hunters, who strip the RTGs' metal casings, regardless of the risk of radioactive contamination.

RTGs are also utilized by the United States Air Force to power remote sensing stations for Top-ROCK and Save-Igloo radar systems predominantly located in Alaska[2]

In the past, small "plutonium cells" (very small 238Pu-powered RTGs) were used in implanted heart pacemakers to ensure a very long "battery life". As of 2004 about 90 were still in use. If the wearer dies and the generator is not removed before cremation the device will be subject to great heat. It is unlikely however, if the plutonium is in the form of the dioxide, that contamination will occur. Note that plutonium 238 is more able to disperse than plutonium 239, but the dioxide is an air stable solid which is normally sintered in air at a temperature much higher than that used in the cremation of human remains (although they are designed to survive cremation).

Although not strictly RTGs, similar units called radioisotope heater units are also used by various spacecraft including the Mars Exploration Rovers, Galileo and Cassini. These devices use small samples of radioactive material to produce heat directly, instead of electricity.

Life spanMost RTGs use 238Pu which decays with a half-life of 87.7 years. RTGs using this material will therefore lose 1 − 0.51 / 87.7 or 0.787% of their capacity per year. 23 years after production, such an RTG would produce at 0.523 / 87.7 or 83.4% of its starting capacity. Thus, with a starting capacity of 470 W, after 23 years it would have a capacity of 0.834 * 470 W = 392 W. However, the bi-metallic thermocouples used to convert thermal energy into electrical energy degrade as well; at the beginning of 2001, the power generated by the Voyager RTGs had dropped to 315 W for Voyager 1 and to 319 W for Voyager 2. Therefore in early 2001, the thermocouples were working at about 80% of their original capacity.

This life span was of particular importance during the Galileo mission. Originally intended to launch in 1986, it was delayed by the Space Shuttle Challenger accident. Due to this unforeseen event the probe had to sit in storage for 4 years before launching in 1989. Subsequently, its RTGs had decayed somewhat, necessitating replanning the power budget for the mission.

EfficiencyImage of a mostly thermally isolated, Plutonium RTG pellet glowing red hot.RTGs use thermoelectric couples or "thermocouples", to convert heat from the radioactive material into electricity. Thermocouples, though very reliable and long-lasting, are very inefficient; efficiencies above 10% have never been achieved and most RTGs have efficiencies between 3-7%. Thermoelectric materials in space missions to date have included silicon germanium alloys, lead telluride and tellurides of antimony, germanium and silver (TAGS). Studies have been done on improving efficiency by using other technologies to generate electricity from heat. Achieving higher efficiency would mean less radioactive fuel is needed to produce the same amount of power, and therefore a lighter overall weight for the generator. This is a critically important factor in spaceflight launch cost considerations.

Energy conversion devices which rely on the principle of thermionic emission can achieve efficiencies between 10-20%, but require higher temperatures than those at which standard RTGs run. Some prototype 210Po RTG have used thermionics, and potentially other extremely radioactive isotopes could also provide power by this means, but short half-lives make these infeasible. Several space-bound nuclear reactors have used thermionics, but nuclear reactors are usually too heavy to use on most space probes.

Thermophotovoltaic cells work by the same principles as a photovoltaic cell, except that they convert infrared light emitted by a hot surface rather than visible light into electricity. Thermophotovoltaic cells have an efficiency slightly higher than thermocouples and can be overlaid on top of thermocouples, potentially doubling efficiency. Systems with radioisotope generators simulated by electric heaters have demonstrated efficiencies of 20%[3], but have not been tested with actual radioisotopes. Some theoretical thermophotovoltaic cell designs have efficiencies up to 30%, but these have yet to be built or confirmed. Thermophotovoltaic cells and silicon thermcouples degrade faster than thermocouples, especially in the presence of ionizing radiation. Further research is needed in this area.

Dynamic generators can provide power at more than 4 times the conversion efficiency of RTGs. NASA and DOE have been developing a next-generation radioisotope-fueled power source called the Stirling Radioisotope Generator (SRG) that uses Free-Piston Stirling engines coupled to linear alternators to convert heat to electricity. SRG prototypes demonstrated an average efficiency of 23%. Greater efficiency can be achieved by increasing the temperature ratio between the hot and colds ends of the generator. The use of non-contacting moving parts, non-degrading flexural bearings, and a lubrication-free and hermetically sealed environment have, in test units, demonstrated no appreciable degradation over years of operation. Experimental results demonstrate that an SRG could continue running for decades without maintenance. Vibration can be eliminated as a concern by implementation of dynamic balancing or use of dual-opposed piston movement. Potential applications of a Stirling radioisotope power system include exploration and science missions to deep-space, Mars, and the Moon.

SafetyDiagram of a stack of general purpose heat source modules as used in RTGs

Radioactive contamination

RTGs may pose a minimal risk of radioactive contamination: if the container holding the fuel leaks, the radioactive material may contaminate the environment.

For spacecraft, the main concern is that if an accident were to occur during launch or a subsequent passage of a spacecraft close to Earth, harmful material could be released into the atmosphere; and their use in spacecraft and elsewhere has attracted controversy.[4][5]

However, this event is not considered likely with current RTG cask designs. For instance, the environmental impact study for the Cassini-Huygens probe launched in 1997 estimated the probability of contamination accidents at various stages in the mission. The probability of an accident occurring which caused radioactive release from one or more of its 3 RTGs (or from its 129 RHUs) during the first 3.5 minutes following launch was estimated at 1 in 1,400; the chances of a release later in the ascent into orbit were 1 in 476; after that the likelihood of an accidental release fell off sharply to less than 1 in a million.[6] If an accident which had the potential to cause contamination occurred during the launch phases (such as the spacecraft failing to reach orbit), the probability of contamination actually being caused by the RTGs was estimated at about 1 in 10.[7] In the event, the launch was successful and Cassini-Huygens reached Saturn.

The plutonium 238 used in these RTGs has a half-life of 87.74 years, in contrast to the 24,110 year half-life of plutonium 239 used in nuclear weapons and reactors. A consequence of the shorter half life is that plutonium 238 is about 275 times more radioactive than plutonium 239 (i.e. 17.3 Ci/g compared to 0.063 Ci/g[8]). For instance, 3.6 kg of plutonium 238 undergoes the same number of radioactive decays per second as 1 tonne of plutonium 239. Since the morbidity of the two isotopes in terms of absorbed radioactivity is almost exactly the same[9], plutonium 238 is around 275 times more toxic by weight than plutonium 239.

The alpha radiation both isotopes emit will not penetrate the skin, but can irradiate internal organs if plutonium is inhaled or ingested. Particularly at risk is the skeleton, the surface of which is likely to absorb the isotope, and the liver, where the isotope will collect and become concentrated.

There have been six known accidents involving RTG-powered spacecraft. The first one was a launch failure on 21 April 1964 in which the U.S. Transit-5BN-3 navigation satellite failed to achieve orbit and burnt up on re-entry north of Madagascar. Its 17,000 Ci (630 TBq) plutonium metal fuel was injected into the atmosphere over the Southern Hemisphere where it burnt up, and traces of plutonium 238 were detected in the area a few months later. The second was the Nimbus B-1 weather satellite whose launch vehicle was deliberately destroyed shortly after launch on 21 May 1968 because of erratic trajectory. Launched from the Vandenberg Air Force Base, its SNAP-19 RTG containing relatively inert plutonium dioxide was recovered intact from the seabed in the Santa Barbara Channel five months later and no environmental contamination was detected. [10]

Two more were failures of Soviet Cosmos missions containing RTG-powered lunar rovers in 1969, both of which released radioactivity as they burnt up. There were also five failures involving Soviet or Russian spacecraft which were carrying nuclear reactors rather than RTGs between 1973 and 1993.[11]

The failure of the Apollo 13 mission in April 1970 meant that the Lunar Module reentered the atmosphere carrying an RTG and burnt up over Fiji. It carried a SNAP-27 RTG containing 44,500 curies (1,650 TBq) of plutonium dioxide which survived reentry into the Earth's atmosphere intact, as it was designed to do, the trajectory being arranged so that it would plunge into 6-9 kilometers of water in the Tonga trench in the Pacific Ocean. The absence of plutonium 238 contamination in atmospheric and seawater sampling confirmed the assumption that the cask is intact on the seabed. The cask is expected to contain the fuel for at least 10 half-lives (i.e. 870 years).

The US Department of Energy has conducted seawater tests and determined that the graphite casing, which was designed to withstand reentry, is stable and no release of plutonium should occur. Subsequent investigations have found no increase in the natural background radiation in the area. The Apollo 13 accident represents an extreme scenario due to the high re-entry velocities of the craft returning from cislunar space. This accident has served to validate the design of later-generation RTGs as highly safe.

To minimize the risk of the radioactive material being released, the fuel is stored in individual modular units with their own heat shielding. They are surrounded by a layer of iridium metal and encased in high-strength graphite blocks. These two materials are corrosion and heat-resistant. Surrounding the graphite blocks is an aeroshell, designed to protect the entire assembly against the heat of reentering the earth's atmosphere. The plutonium fuel is also stored in a ceramic form that is heat-resistant, minimising the risk of vaporization and aerosolization. The ceramic is also highly insoluble.

The most recent accident involving a spacecraft RTG was the failure of the Russian Mars 96 probe launch on 16 November 1996. The two RTGs onboard carried in total 200 g of plutonium and are assumed to have survived reentry (as they were designed to do). They are thought to now lie somewhere in a northeast-southwest running oval 320 km long by 80 km wide which is centred 32 km east of Iquique, Chile.[12]

Many Beta-M RTGs produced by the Soviet Union to power lighthouses and beacons have become orphaned sources of radiation. Several of these units have been illegally dismantled for scrap metal resulting in the complete exposure the Sr-90 source, fallen into the ocean, or have defective shielding due to poor design or physical damage. The US Department of Defense cooperative threat reduction program has expressed concern that material from the Beta-M RTGs can be used by terrorists to construct a dirty bomb. [4]

Nuclear fissionRTGs use a different process of heat generation from that used by nuclear power stations. Nuclear power stations generate power by a chain reaction in which the nuclear fission of an atom releases neutrons which cause other atoms to undergo fission. This allows the rapid reaction of large numbers of atoms, thereby producing large amounts of heat for electricity generation. However, if the reaction is not carefully controlled the number of atoms undergoing fission (and the heat production) can grow exponentially, very rapidly becoming hot enough to destroy the reactor.

Chain reactions do not occur inside RTGs, so such a nuclear meltdown is not possible. In fact, some RTGs are designed so that fission does not occur at all; rather, forms of radioactive decay which cannot trigger other radioactive decays are used instead. As a result, the fuel in an RTG is consumed much more slowly and much less power is produced.

There are no nuclear proliferation risks associated with plutonium-238 because it is unsuitable for making nuclear weapons. The major reason for this is that plutonium-238 undergoes spontaneous fission at a high rate and thus emits neutrons randomly, causing the chain reaction to start too early in the triggering process. This would cause a plutonium-238 bomb to "fizzle", greatly reducing its reliability and power. Moreover due to the speed of decay, plutonium-238 generates copious amounts of heat and thus would complicate the manufacturing process.

All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

February 15, 2008 -- Fearful of top-secret US technology falling into the wrong hands and the risk posed by toxic rocket fuel, the government yesterday said it will launch a missile to blow a failed spy satellite out of the sky. The military will fire the missile within two weeks, aiming for the satellite's fuel tank, which carries lethal hydrazine propellant, Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Pentagon press conference. "When you inhale it, it affects tissues in lungs and has the burning sensation," he said. "If you stick close to it and inhale it, it could be deadly." The satellite, US-193, was launched Dec. 14, 2006, but technicians lost radio contact with it in a matter of hours, and its solar panels were never fully deployed. "This is the first time we've used a tactical missile to engage a spacecraft," Cartwright said. The SM-3 Aegis ballistic missile, built by Raytheon, is normally used to target other rockets. After extensive study and analysis, US officials came to the conclusion that "we're better off taking the attempt than not," Cartwright said.

He said the SM-3 would intercept the satellite just prior to it re-entering Earth's atmosphere. It would be "next to impossible" to hit the satellite after that because of atmospheric disturbances, he said. Officials said the window of opportunity would open in about three days and last about eight days. Experts predict that the satellite would be intercepted somewhere over Hawaii. "They've generally tested by Hawaii, most of the ships are stationed there, certainly the ships that have the most practice at it," John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, which studies space defense technologies, told The Post. Officials said there will be two armed Navy ships on standby in case the first launch misses. It was not known where the satellite would land. But officials familiar with the situation said about half of the 5,000-pound spacecraft is expected to survive its blazing descent through the atmosphere and will scatter debris - some of it potentially hazardous - over several hundred miles. Pike said there was almost no way to tell where the satellite would land even after the missile hit but estimated a 90 percent chance of success based on the SM-3's track record. "It's going to come down where it's going to come down, and the location of the intercept is unrelated to [that]," he said. "Most of the debris will still be going at an orbital velocity - the stuff is just going to keep going."

"The thing would be broken up into a bunch of bits and pieces, so that would reduce the possibility that some piece of sensitive technology would wind up on eBay - where the Russians and the Chinese would get into a bidding war for it," he said. Officials have said there is about 1,000 pounds of hydrazine propellant on the satellite. The missile "will break the fuel tank open," Pike said. "And that means the propellant will disperse and burn up at the top of the atmosphere, rather than falling in some man's pasture and killing a bunch of his cows." Deputy National Security Adviser James Jeffrey said that members of Congress were briefed on the plan earlier yesterday and that diplomatic notifications to other countries would be made before the end of the day.

Logged

All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately

This subject is wide open to speculation. I would trust these observers above the 'official' ones.They have been tracking the thing since it was launched.There is not much known about the actual satellite. This is why most of the attention is on the powerplant system.It did not have solar arrays deployed. That may just mean that they 'did not deploy' or it could mean it has 'another powersource'

But once it breaks-up into pieces, there is no way to be sure where big chunks will land, if lucky maybe 5 hours before an area could be pointed.

But no worries, the good ol' navy will come to the rescue just in time.

"Master of Space"--a motto of the United States Space Command, a joint Air Force, Army and Navy command set up by the Pentagon in 1985--says it all. Our military leaders seek to control outer space, and dominate the earth, by basing weapons in space. Corporate America is deeply involved.

Really sums up just how far into the pit toilet we've plunged... It's no longer 'we the people', it's more like gov't and military against not only America, but the entire world. They're like the sicko child holding the smaller child's head underwater at the local swimming pool, refusing to let up.